On my To Do list for the break is reading Jane Mcgonigal's book Reality is Broken. I am very interested in using games in class to promote learning and engagement. And while doing some research on the subject I found some fabulous resources. Games Learning Society is working on games that teach. Explore the site. There is quite a variety of games available for free, my favorite word. Most of the games are science based, and Progenitor, the Zombie game, definitely looks like my cup of tea. Here is what they say:

Progenitor X is a game developed to teach players about the relationships between cells, tissues, and organs, including the basic scientific principles of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell research.

From one of my favorite blogs, Mind Shift, comes a selection of games that use persuasion. The first one on their list, Quandary, is an open ended critical thinking game where students sift through facts and opinions to solve a crisis in a village. I love that there is no right answer. This game comes with lessons and downloadables and they even have a free app for both Google Play and Apple.

I'm in the mid year slump. Maybe games will make it all more lively. That's my plan.

Here's a link to Jane McGonigal's videos. Make sure to watch the one that adds 10 years to your life. Now what will you do with that extra time?